Proper Parking Brake Adjustment?

[The Critic]

When I was at the shop today for a transmission service, the technician told me that my parking brake (foot-operated) was out of adjustment. Sure enough, I checked the factory service manual when I got home and found the spec to be 8-11 notches at 67.5lbf. I am not sure how to accurately reproduce that amount of pressure, since according to my dad, I tend to exert a gorilla-like force on everything. My own test of the parking brake concluded that it was taking between 15-17 notches, then again, I stomp the pedal hard.

The adjustment nut was quite loose and only after 5-6 full turns did I begin to feel some resistance. I think I turned the nut about 7 full turns in the end.

After the adjustment, if I do a gentle push to engage the parking brake, it results in 5 notches. If I give it a bit more pressure and/or stomp on it like I normally do, it takes 7 notches. The parking brake pedal also feels reasonably firm as well, unlike before.

The car rolls fine in neutral. If I put the car in Drive and allow it to roll and try to use the parking brake to stop the car, it takes 2 clicks before the car will come to a stop. Similarly, if the car is rolling backwards on a flat surface in neutral, it takes 1 click to stop the car. With those results, I am assuming that this means the parking brake is properly adjusted and is not dragging excessively?

Let me know what you guys think.

Thanks.

 

[hemitom]

Just raise the rear end and turn the wheels by hand, you should feel the slightest amount of drag if any doing it this way. Then you will know if adjustment is to much .

 

[Vikas]

+1 for turning the wheels by hand.

Or just drive gently around the block without using the brakes and feel the rotor/wheel temperature; all four should be uniform. If the rears are hotter, then they are dragging.

 

[sciphi]

Parking brakes not working well on a drum brake car is usually a symptom that the drum brake needs to be adjusted. After all, all the parking brake does is use a cable to activate the drum brake instead of the hydraulics. It's typically easy to adjust a drum brake. As an added bonus of adjusting the drum brakes to make the parking brake work better, the regular brakes work better too!

 

[mechtech2]

If you have no drag, you ae doing great. I like minimum engagement travel with NO drag. Do NOT shoot for a slight drag.

Stock drum adjusters often are too loose - too much travel. And this affects the p brake.

 

[sciphi]

Originally Posted By: mechtech2
If you have no drag, you ae doing great. I like minimum engagement travel with NO drag. Do NOT shoot for a slight drag.

Stock drum adjusters often are too loose - too much travel. And this affects the p brake.


That happened on both our cars. The drum brakes on both needed adjusting to operate what I'd consider properly.

 

[The Critic]

I have 4-wheel disc, but ill try jacking up the car. Thanks.

 

[OilProfessor]

The Professor recommends to adjust the drum brakes to a slight drag. Then, back them off about 6 or 7 clicks.

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: OilProfessor
The Professor recommends to adjust the drum brakes to a slight drag. Then, back them off about 6 or 7 clicks.


I don't have drum brakes. The e-brake is activated by the rear pads.

 

[mechtech2]

There are rear discs with a secondary set of shoes [drum brakes].
There are rear pads with geared adjusters, and automatic adjusters.
And the P brake can sometimes be adjusted separately.
I don't know what system you have.

 

[ltslimjim]

^You just broke my brain.

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: mechtech2
There are rear discs with a secondary set of shoes [drum brakes].
There are rear pads with geared adjusters, and automatic adjusters.
And the P brake can sometimes be adjusted separately.
I don't know what system you have.

Did you see the post above yours?

 

[eljefino]

The trick I use for brake drag is to toss it in neutral then coast up a very slight hill. Let the car coast to a stop then reverse. If you have draggy brakes you'll feel them grab you on the reversal. IDK how the hybrid CVT handles/ likes sliding back in N.